I just noticed this in my almost 9 yo daughter yesterday-- one nipple is slightly swollen and when I asked her she said it hurts a little. Friends told me their daughter went through this exactly at this age and when they took her to the doctor, the doctor said, it's normal, they're breast buds. I'm going to call our doctor but I am really caught off guard by this! I wasn't expecting it for a few more years. AND we are major natural foods eaters and eat naturally raised, non-hormone meat and dairy as well as organic fruits and veggies. I had always thought that early puberty was in large part due to growth hormones fed to animals in the food chain, and now I'm seeing that it's probably not the case.

She is also getting a small breakout area on the side of her nose. The weird thing is, my nephew has it too, and they live near us, and he is two years older 11) So I'm wondering, is there something in our water? Or are they just hitting puberty at around the same time?

Has anyone else had a daughter start early puberty? Or does this all seem within the range of normal to you? I see references in articles to puberty starting 'as early as 8' but they don't define what that means. Are breast buds 'pre-pubescent'?

She can still be a kid. I was a B cup by that age! lol! I was just a kid with breasts. Everyone develops differently, but it's definitely a sign of things to come. Just give her lots of hugs and help her to stay young as long as she'd like. Just because she's an early bloomer doesn't mean she won't be your innocent little girl! Best wishes!

I understand your surprise, but I think it is in the normal range.
My eldest got the buds at 9 but that is really all she had until she was about 12. Now she is 13, she by no means has her 'full' breasts yet like many of her classmates and has not started her period. I noticed when she was in the 6th grade at least half of the girls must have been a 'B' cup.
My younger daughter ( 9) has just started budding too, but if she is like her sister it is still a while before anything else happens.
Our diet is much like yours too. Also my daughter stayed a kid, she really didn't get into the teen type stuff ( fashion/music/skincare etc) until she
started JHS at age 12.
HTH

Ahh, thank you! It really helps to hear from people who have experienced this. I was sitting her wondering if I should have been more careful about not letting her have so much 'regular' ice cream over the summer (about once a week)...

The doctor said he has seen this in thousands of boys AND girls at this age-- the nipples get a little swollen and there is a little hardness underneath, but it goes away after a few months. He said they don't known what causes it, and there's nothing you can do to make it go away-- it happens on its own. I chose this ped years ago because he is very natural-health oriented, very supportive of extended breastfeeding, healthy foods, and antibiotics only when absolutely necessary.

So the GOOD news is my belief that organic foods still do and will make a difference is still in place.

And I have to self correct on the whole, 'is this puberty' thinking because I think our bodies are on a continuum more than a chart, so for me to have seen this as a bright line of puberty starting was a bad way to approach the issue.

As far as the breakouts, your location is the easiest/simple explantion. Every time we live near a big city, my DD and I break out a lot. Just 2 days in SLC gives me zits for a couple weeks. Not much you can do about that but move.

Dd started menstruating at 9, along with breasts, acne, and the whole package. So did I. Now at 11, she is the same weight and general shape as I am, and an inch or two taller!

I did too..

My best friend and I were just chatting about this and she got her boobs first but I got my period first (then again, I had mine too...hers were jsut huge )...We were both just barely 9 when it happened...

Fast forward 21 years and I get an email saying "she's getting boobs..how can she be getting boobs...she's 8 1/2 years old......" and I called and laughed and said "have you forgotten how old WE were???" and she laughed and said NO, she had just hoped it would be later...and they eat a primarily organic diet....

My mom and her sisters got theirs around 9 or 10 and so did my friends mom and her sisters....they were born in the 40s...

I know you said you got your answers, but just wanted to add my experience in. I got the same sort of symptoms when I was 9 and it *was* the start of my breasts (didn't go away.. I've never heard of that from any of the women I know..??) I also got them in my armpits (where I also have breast tissue). THey were sore and a bit swollen for quite some time as my breasts developed. I was still a kid and didn't get my period until I was 11. Yes, it made me a bit more self conscious, but other than that... it wasn't a huge deal. My parents had taught me about puberty, I had had the classes in school and really it was EXCITING for me to know my body was changing into that of a woman. I was proud of the changes, not ashamed. I'm guessing you've had these discussions with your dd as well, so hopefully she's feeling this is a positive thing as well.

my dd had little breast bumps at abotu 9.. and they didn't change until this year she is 12 now and only slight change.. it is a slow and steady process for some! some start early some late.. but she will be the same inside. don't worry abtou ehr beign a kid!

I love all your input, it gives me perspective. I just want to add the reason I said I wasn't ready for her body to mature is because my dd sometimes curls up against me and says, "I don't want to turn 9. I like being 8." !! But you are right to remind me there is nothing wrong with these changes, they are part of life.

I noticed at about 9 or so my oldest started looking like she was getting breast buds. Some of it I tink was general body shape changes--I think she also got just slightly pudgy, though you wouldn't know it to look at her. She had always been pretty skinny, and she just looked sort of normal after the "weight gain". Then she started growing up. She hasn't gained any weight in 1 1/2 years, but she's grown 3 inches, and only just this summer did those breasts start to turn into anything, at age 11.

Sometimes I think those little breast nubs are indicators not of actual breast development, but of that weight gain that some kids do right before they have a change in height; does that make sense?

As far as the painful lumps go, well, breasts have lots of lymph tissue. Seems very plausible to me.

She can still be a kid. I was a B cup by that age! lol! I was just a kid with breasts. Everyone develops differently, but it's definitely a sign of things to come. Just give her lots of hugs and help her to stay young as long as she'd like. Just because she's an early bloomer doesn't mean she won't be your innocent little girl! Best wishes!

i too had breasts at 9. got my first bra at 7. it was a bra not a training bra and by 9 i was a small c.
i was still a kid. still my mommys little girl. i just had breasts.
being a public school kid made it hard to be the only 3rd 4th 5th 6th grader with breasts, kids can be cruel, the girls name called, and the boys acted innapropriate. so if your daughter is in school i would have a talk with her about how its NOT ok for other kids to make her feel badly about her body. and to talk to you, her teacher or a counselor at school about it if it happens.

i was innocent til 12. then i became the rebel with the tits. lol.

)O( unschooling, witchy mum to Addy(7) and Niamh(4)Living with an invisible chronic illness.Fat and hairy. And happy with both *( o Y o )*

I noticed dd started developing breast buds shortly after her 9th birthday. She is now 10 1/2 and not a whole lot has changed, she has gotten a few inches taller in the last year and half and her breasts are very slowly developing(only slightly changed since I noticed at 9), a few pimples here and there, no period. This is within the range of normal.

My dd will be nine next month, breast buds started on ONE side first, then a month or two later, the other one. I told her not to make any big plans because these buds might not be a sign of imminent Dolly Parton time, but, boobs and bras is where it's AT for 3rd graders! DD regularly examines herself for growth, and tells me how big they are, but the other day, they were "giNORmous," and I just died laughing.

Oh, I have mentioned in discussions with other parents and her that there is a school of thought on this suggesting that growth hormones in burgers may play a role in early onset puberty. So, the other day, after seeing her boobs were ginormous, I asked her if she was ready for lunch, and she said, "Yes! I want a burger!"

My dd is 10 and starting to grow breasts. I found a book for her to read and explained what was happening and told her this is a good thing and got excited about it. Although I was a little scared inside that my little girl is growing. I did read once that this is hereditary when one starts to develop. So I think that around when you and your mom got her period is when she will probably get hers. So keep up the organic and healthy eating.

You might very health conscious, maybe you avoid plastics... But did your parents? Does your daughter's school avoid plastics? What about plastics in our water, leaching into our food, breathing in the chemicals when they are burnt? Scary stuff.

I was doing a Google search on Breast Buds and found this page and site which I am really excited about. It is hard to find reliable information about these things so it is good to read other people's actual experiences. My wife was not very in touch with her body and changes because it wasn't something talked about in her family so she doesn't remember when her breasts started nor when her first period was.

My daughter was born by C-section 2 weeks late, had no hair for years and at 8 hasn't needed to have a hair cut yet (she has very fine blond hair). She was still having the occasional breast milk at 5+ and was still sleeping with us at 7. She has always had an organic diet including home grown veges and is a vegetarian though does eat fish with her mum once a week. She has not been vaccinated and she has never had antibiotics.

Her teeth came late, she walked late and she is quite small for her age. Anyway a few months ago when she started getting painful breast lumps I was quite shocked as I assumed she would be a late developer. Being a worrier this was my first reaction but on reading about it I am no longer concerned.

Statistics seem to show that puberty is occurring earlier around the world and this is probably for varying reasons. Some of it is to do with artificial hormones added to our food chain. Others are to do with evolutionary changes, genetic mixing etc. It is currently consider "normal" for breast buds to appear around 8-9. It is also quite normal for them to be painful when touched or bumped for a year or more

I work with children a lot and notice that everyone has different growth rates and different parts of the body grow at different times and rates. If breast buds start in a small child that hasn't grown much then they will be more noticeable and get in the way more. As the body grows they will possibly become less noticeable again.

There are also concerns about the hormone mimicking qualities of soy products and so we cut down significantly on our soy intake. The plastic thing is interesting.

My DD sees a ped. endocrinologist, and he said that it is not considered "Early puberty" unless they get their period by age 8. Anything other than that is normal - early, yes, but normal. My DD got her period right after turning 10; she had breast buds at 8. I was totally not ready, as I was a "late bloomer" and didn't menstruate until 13 - but she takes after my DH's family, and my MIL said she got her period in 5th grade too.

Anyway, welcome again - I hope you'll poke around. It sounds like your child-rearing choices are very similar to those Mothering espouses, and you will probably find many like-minded folk. We do love us some good discussions!

I certainly understand what you feel when you say she's enjoying being a kid. I had precocious puberty where I was in a bra by age six, a C cup by the fifth grade, shaving at 8, first period at 8, full height by 10. I do feel like I missed out because I was always perceived older. However, I started puberty at age 6. I think that breast buds at age 9 are completely normal. I wouldn't expect her to need a bra for a few years. I think she'll be fine.